Moonraker *

Here it is folks, the worst James Bond movie in the franchise. Oh how I feel bad for Roger Moore. This might have looked good on paper, but on the screen it crashes and burns. Putting James Bond in space could have ended this series completely.

The funny thing is the first two thirds of “Moonraker” are some of the best moments in the Roger Moore saga. The movie opens with a terrific action sequence involving Bond jumping out of a plane while desperately trying to strap on a parachute. Even though the sequence involves Jaws, my most hated of Bond villains, it is still exciting. From there the movie follows Bond as he attempts to foil Hugo Drax, who has plans for world domination. But when his plans are full revealed, it is then when we realize that this film is not going to end well.

James Bond goes in to space, chasing Drax who plans on creating a new society on the moon. From there the movie creates a whole new definition for the word ridiculous. There is a space battle at one point that is embarrassing to everybody involved. I’m baffled as to how the special effects at this point were nominated for an Academy award. They are simply cheesy looking, and do not make the characters appear to be anywhere other than in front of a giant black wall with white dots all over it.

To this day I can’t believe that this movie actually exists. It is a black eye on a great franchise.